Sewaholic Standard

Lonsdale Sew-Along: Details, Schedule and Sew-Along Button!

Hello everyone! Are you excited to sew along with me again? I am! I’m excited because this time around, it’s going to be better than ever.

The Pendrell Sew-Along was my first time leading a sew-along, and I learned a lot from your suggestions on how to make it better. The Crescent Sew-Along went well, although I wished I had more time and could keep on track with the schedule, we did get a little behind the original timeline! (I was moving offices, so there was a lot going on! Hard to find all of your sewing supplies when you’re moving.)

Now I’m settled, and totally ready to lead the Lonsdale Sew-Along!

As requested, I’ve put together a detailed schedule for this sew-along. This calendar will also be posted on the Sew-Alongs page for reference. If you were one of the people who asked for a more thorough schedule, let me know if this is what you were hoping for!

Q&A

Q. I’m fairly new to sewing! Can I make this dress?

A. Sewing-wise, this is a very easy dress to sew. There aren’t any darts, and the rest of the construction is simple. The hardest part is the zipper, so if that doesn’t scare you, I’d say go for it! If you’re still undecided, watch the sew-along as it goes, so you can decide if this project is right for you. I’m here for questions if you get stuck, too!

Q. What if we want to line the dress? How about underlining?

A. I’ll be sewing the Lonsdale Dress exactly as per the pattern, but I will also show you how to make a lining for the skirt, and how to underline the dress! I’ll demonstrate these on other versions of the dress that I plan to start during the sew-along and will finish later on.

Q. Can I substitute an invisible zipper for the regular zipper?

A. Absolutely! I’m not a fan of invisible zippers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use one.

Q. Can I use a hand-picked zipper in this dress?

A. You bet! I love a hand-picked zipper. I have a tutorial on my blog, and if I get time, I’ll demonstrate a hand-picked zipper on the Lonsdale dress. It’s a great way to ensure your seams line up!

Q. I want to make a pencil skirt for the bottom of my dress. Will you show me how to alter the pattern?

A. This is a tough one! Because of the way the skirt is designed, it’s not possible to simply take in the sideseams and slim down the skirt. We’d need to draft a completely new skirt for this dress! If you feel comfortable with combining different patterns, you could use a tried-and-true pencil skirt pattern instead of the skirt pieces in the pattern. I won’t be covering this in the sew-along however.

Q. This pattern uses a lot of fabric. Are there ways to save fabric on this dress?

A. Yes! I’m putting together a post shortly that will share a couple of ways to save fabric on this dress. It does use a lot of fabric, but I have some ideas that might help!

Any more questions on the Lonsdale Sew-Along? Leave a comment below!

About Tasia

Hi, I'm Tasia, and I love to sew! I started this blog as a creative outlet, and now I design sewing patterns, write about sewing and work on Sewaholic Patterns full-time. I'll be writing about sewing projects, posting about new pattern designs, and sharing what it's like to run a sewing pattern company!

This sounds fabulous Tasia, cannot wait to receive my pattern and get started! It’s perfectly planned too, as I get back from holiday on the 25th July ;o)

Just wanted to let you know that the link below your Lonsdale Dress button on this post and the link below the Crescent Skirt button on your sew-along page, both go to the Pendrell Blouse sew-along! All roads lead to the Pendrell Blouse apparently…which is great, as it’s on my list of things to sew of course ;o)

I so wish I could do this sew-along! Alas, I’m up to my eyeballs in projects for others and personal stuff coming up (of a big and the sort that wreaks havoc on my sewing schedule. haha!). So I shall just be watching from behind the scenes–but taking not for when I order my Lonsdale and make it! :)

Oooh excellent! I am planning a trip from 18th August and wanted to have the dress sewn in time…I was worried that I would have to go ahead without the sewalong, but now the schedule is up I can see the timing is great for me :) I can’t wait to get started!!

Tragically, I’ll be on vacation the first two weeks of August, so I won’t be able to follow along with the sewalong. /sniffle. However, I’m hoping to have my first version made up before then… assuming my pattern arrives in time, anyway. I have no idea what the mail delay is these days. Can’t wait for the “save fabric” post! :)

Actually, I’m with Tanit-Isis… I’m going to try to get this going ahead of schedule, because my August is really packed. (I’m getting married!) However, I did have one question regarding the FBA on the dartless bodice… will your FBA method keep the bodice dartless? Or will it involve adding one? I’m just thinking back to the FBA chapter in FFRP and I think it gives instructions on how to add one as a possible solution. I may try to muddle through before you get to this post so any insight may be helpful! :)

Ohhhh – great :) I shall be bookmarking all the sewalong posts!
Not sure if can sew-along with the schedule, but I want this to be my office Christmas-party dress, so will def. make it before end of year (LOL).

The badge is displayed proudly on my blog’s sidebar, and my fabric even came in the mail already. I ended up ordering the wonderful teal Japanese cotton that I had had my eye on – thanks for the excuse to splurge. And, my purse has already forgotten about the extra purchase. I also found it funny that I now keep seeing Japanese cotton all over the internets. Crazy. Now I hope that I won’t wake up on the 26th to find out that you don’t recommend using Japanese cotton, especially since it feels so wonderful and seems like it’ll be fabulous for the skirt portion of the Lonsdale. Can’t wait!

Great, I’m really looking forward to take part in my very first sew-along! I ordered the Lonsdale dress pattern this Monday but I have not yet received any confirmation mail. Will I get the pattern on time for the sew-along? Thank you in advance.

@msmodiste: Hello! I haven’t researched the FBA plan of attack quite yet, If you come up with a method that works before I get to it, I’d love to hear what you did! :) I’m guessing that we can add extra fullness to the gathered area where the knot is, and avoid adding a dart. Or, somehow pivot the fullness to the centre seam to keep it dartless. Will research and let you know!

Hi Tasia. Would love to join the sew along but am concerned that if I order the pattern today, will it arrive before the commencement date of the sew along? I am in Melbourne Australia. Dont really want pressure before I even start!! Ta Meagan

@meagana: Hi Meagan, it looks like patterns are arriving in just over a week! So you should see it at the start of the sew-along, if all goes well, although there is no way to guarantee delivery through the postal system. I hope this helps you decide! The posts will be up forever so you can always join in, whenever you’re ready.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

[…] the patterns look really flattering.¬† But what I like more is the fact that she’s running a sew along on her blog, which means that people like me who find it hard to figure out exactly what pattern […]